New Commercial Baby Food Guidelines Advise Salt and Sugar Reduction Targets

22 August 2025

The guidelines come after months of delay and respond to the concerns raised in the 2019 evidence review into commercial infant food and drink. By reducing salt and sugar content and addressing the way products are packaged and marketed, it is hoped these new measures will improve babies’ diets, protect dental health, and enable parents to make better informed dietary choices for their infants.

The key areas of guidance are outlined below:

Guidance for baby meals

• Businesses should not add salt, free sugars or sweetening agents to products. 
• Baby meal subcategories will have different guidelines for total sugar and sodium reduction (*as seen in Table 1 at the bottom of the page).
• Businesses are encouraged to reduce pureed products and the use of fruit puree, with more emphasis on savoury and vegetable-based meals.

Guidance for baby snacks

• Stricter sugar limits for snacks marketed to babies aged 0 - 12 months compared to those for +12 months.
• Products containing high levels of sugar that cannot be reformulated should be classified as ‘confectionery’ and are not suitable for children under 36 months.
• Snacks aimed at babies aged +12 months must contain less than 10% of energy per 100g from total sugar and contain no added salt.
• Snacks aimed at babies aged between 0 - 12 months must contain no added sugars or sweetening agents, have less than 10% of energy per 100g from total sugar, and contain no added salt.

Guidance for baby drinks:

• Drinks should contain no added sugars or sweetening agents.

 

Guidance for marketing and labelling of commercial infant foods:

• Product labelling must align with government advice on solid food introduction.
• Labelling should be honest and not mislead or exaggerate nutritional content.
• On-pack marketing and promotional statements should not make implied health claims that are not backed by scientific evidence.
• Provide clear feeding instructions on products with nozzles.
• Stop marketing snacks as suitable to be eaten between meals for infants aged 12 months and under.

The guidance also suggests manufacturers should avoid the production of sweet and fruit-based foods, and instead opt for more savoury, single-flavour, and vegetable foods. They recommend considering appropriate portion sizing and promoting the development of good dietary habits and taste and texture development by producing fewer highly blended foods.

 

Effectiveness of new guidelines

From this month, business have until February 2027 to comply with the guidelines, with a progress report expected thereafter. However, many in the health sector – including Action on Salt and Sugar - argue this 18-month adjustment period is unnecessarily long, given how long the guidelines have already been under discussion and the high level of previous industry engagement.

Critically, these guidelines are also voluntary and there is no clear method or system outlined for how they will be monitored or enforced. This means the reliance is on food businesses themselves to improve, and as past experience has shown, voluntary measures and industry goodwill alone are unlikely to deliver any substantial change.

The guidelines are also weak when it comes to snacks and portion advice. Children under 12 months do not need snacks, yet the recommendations stop short of firmly discouraging their production and promotion. Additionally, there is a lack of clear, explicit guidance on appropriate portion sizes, leaving too much ambiguity for manufacturers and reducing potential impact.

Speaking on this release, Dr Kawther Hashem, Head of Research and Impact at Action on Sugar, based at Queen Mary University of London, quoted: “Our research has consistently shown excessive levels of sugars in commercial baby foods. Today’s announcement is a welcome recognition that more must be done to protect parents and children from baby foods unnecessarily high in sugars and misleading marketing.

These long-overdue voluntary guidelines are a step in the right direction, but they must not be the final word. Consuming too much sugar on a regular basis means children are taking in excess calories that, if not used for energy, are stored as fat. This increases the risk of weight gain, and if it starts early, that excess weight is often carried into adolescence and adulthood – raising the risk of overweight, obesity, and agonising tooth decay.

If we’re serious about protecting our youngest children, these guidelines must be made mandatory. We urge the government to closely monitor progress and act swiftly if companies fail to change.”

The recent government announcement can be read on the Gov.UK website alongside the full commercial baby food and drink guidance.

 

*Table 1. Guidelines for baby meals 

Product Category	Added sugars guidelines	Sugar guidelines	Added salt guidelines	Sodium guidelines
Fruit and vegetable foods	No added sugars or sweetening agents	No total sugar guideline	No added salt	No sodium guideline
Main meals	No added sugars or sweetening agents	Less than or equal to 5% limit on fruit content by weight	No added salt	Less than 60mg sodium per 100 kcal, or less than 100mg sodium per 100 kcal if cheese is mentioned in front of pack name
Dry cereals	No added sugars or sweetening agents	Less than or equal to 10% limit on fruit content per 100g dry weight (not as prepared)	No added salt	Less than 60mg sodium per 100 kcal, or less than 100mg sodium per 100 kcal if cheese is mentioned in front of pack name
Desserts and breakfasts	No added sugars or sweetening agents	Less than 10g total sugar per 100g	No added salt	Less than 60mg sodium per 100 kcal, or less than 100mg sodium per 100 kcal if cheese is mentioned in front of pack name
Soups, stocks and cooking sauces	No added sugars or sweetening agents	No total sugar guideline	No added salt	Less than 60mg sodium per 100 kcal, or less than 100mg sodium per 100 kcal if cheese is mentioned in front of pack name
Other – for example plain rice, pasta	No added sugars or sweetening agents	No total sugar guideline	No added salt	Less than 60mg sodium per 100 kcal, or less than 100mg sodium per 100 kcal if cheese is mentioned in front of pack name